New 100 Bills Coming Soon. Can You Spot a Fake?

The U.S. government released the first in a series of educational videos, amplifying public education efforts for the new $100 note, which will begin circulating on February 10, 2011.

The public education program kicked off in April with the unveiling of the new design for the $100 note and the launch of a new educational website.

“The educational video series we are launching today is but one among a diverse array of educational tools designed to meet the needs of U.S. currency users the world over,” says Dawn Haley, chief, Office of External Relations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Globally, there are about 6.5 billion $100 notes in circulation, and the Federal Reserve Board estimates that up to two-thirds of those notes circulate outside of the U.S.

“To ensure a smooth introduction of the new $100 note, we must prepare users for it and educate them on how to authenticate. We want people to know its features so they can know it’s real.”

Now through the February 10 Day of Issue, there will be a steady stream of educational information available, including:

• Video Series – Six short videos will cover topics such as how to detect a counterfeit note, the art of banknote design and how new notes enter circulation. The episodes will feature guests from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve Board and the United States Secret Service. The first episode is an introduction to the $100 public education program and is available beginning today at www.newmoney.gov.

• Training Sessions – Officials from the Federal Reserve Board and the United States Secret Service will be conducting training sessions about the new $100 note’s security and design features at seminars attended by cash-handling organizations. Information on dates and locations will be posted on www.newmoney.gov as they become available.

• bTraining Materials – Free cash handler training materials are available for download, or order free of charge at www.newmoney.gov. The training materials for the $100 note are available in 25 languages.

• eNewsletters – Those who have subscribed for e-mail updates about the public education program will receive The $100 BankNote, a periodic electronic newsletter carrying news and information about the new $100 note. Subscribers received the first edition today. Go to www.newmoney.gov and click on “E-mail Updates” to join the subscription list.

• Social Media Updates – The government has launched social media pages on Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube to update the public about changes to U.S. currency. Go to www.newmoney.gov and click on “Stay Connected” for access to these resources.

“It will be important for the people around the world who rely on the $100 note to know that they will not have to trade in their older design $100 notes when the new ones begin circulating,” says Michael Lambert, assistant director at the Federal Reserve Board.

Protecting and maintaining confidence in U.S. currency requires a combination of effective public education, law enforcement and security features.

There are a number of security features in the redesigned $100 note, including two new features, the 3-D Security Ribbon and the Bell in the Inkwell. These security features are easy for consumers and merchants to use to authenticate their currency.

The blue 3-D Security Ribbon on the front of the new $100 note contains images of bells and 100s that move and change from one to the other as you tilt the note. The Bell in the Inkwell on the front of the note is another new security feature. The bell changes color from copper to green when the note is tilted, an effect that makes the bell seem to appear and disappear within the copper inkwell.

The new design for the $100 note retains effective security features from the previous design, including the portrait watermark of Benjamin Franklin, the security thread and the color-shifting numeral 100.

For a more detailed description of the redesigned $100 note and its features, visit www.newmoney.gov, where you can watch an animated video, click through an interactive note or browse through the multimedia resources for images and B-roll.